Public Lands

Utah has been one of the most popular areas in the United States for filmmakers since westerns hit the big screens almost 100 years ago according to experts in the film industry. Is it possible to reap the economic benefits of movies and commercials while preserving Utah’s iconic landscapes used on camera? 

In a remote corner of Oregon, James Pogue found himself at the heart of a rebellion. Granted unmatched access by Ammon Bundy to the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Pogue met ranchers and militiamen ready to die fighting the federal government.

For generations, the Wrights of southern Utah have raised cattle and world-champion saddle-bronc riders ― some call them the most successful rodeo family in history. 

Now, Bill and Evelyn Wright, parents to 13 children and grandparents to many more, find themselves struggling to hang on to the majestic landscape where they’ve been running cattle for 150 years as the West is transformed by urbanization, battered by drought and rearranged by public-land disputes.

Times have changed. The majority of Americans now live in urban environments, and the current generation is defined by technology. This has left some public land agencies fighting to stay relevant.

When President Donald Trump came to Utah in December, he reorganized the boundaries of two national monuments in Utah. The areas of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante now contain five smaller national monuments.

The Utah Department of Natural Resources and the Division of Wildlife Resources renewed their Hunter Access Agreement with the State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration. The contract keeps 3.4 million acres of Utah trust lands open to hunters and anglers as well as those interested in viewing wildlife.

An analysis of wildfire data by the Center for Western Priorities compared the risk of wildfires on federally managed public lands and state-owned lands. 

Correction: A previous version of this story claimed that the public comment period ended with the submission of Sec. Zinke's report last Thursday. The formal comment period actually ended July 10. The story has been changed to reflect this.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s recommendation to shrink two Utah National Monuments is expected to face major legal fights if adopted by President Trump.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has completed the review of national monuments mandated by President Trump. He has not released his recommendations. The New York Times is reporting that those recommendations include reducing the size of 4 national monuments, including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah. Reports are that Secretary Zinke may recommend a drastic reduction in size for Bears Ears.

A new map from the Idaho Department of Lands shows nearly all of that state's trust lands are open for recreation.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has released his interim report on Bears Ears National Monument.

His recommendations include reducing the size of the monument and seeking congressional approval authorizing tribal co-management of the monument and designation of areas that fall outside the revised monument as national conservation or recreation areas. Sec. Zinke has extended the public comment period to July 10.

The Bureau of Land Management is reconsidering travel routes for off-road vehicles on more than  6 million acres of Utah land.  BLM-Utah will revisit plans for lands surrounding Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Dinosaur National Monument

State lawmakers, in conjunction with university researchers, held a town hall meeting Thursday concerning a study on the economic effects of a public lands transfer.

Soon you may see a new TV advertisement from the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation policy organization, that will only play in a few western states for a very specific reason.

  This morning I spent some time skiing up Smithfield Canyon in the Uintah Wasatch Cache National Forest. Growing up in Michigan where public land was hard to come by, I have come to enjoy our “commons” where I’m not trespassing on posted private land, or required to pay a fee before entering.

Utah representatives Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz are unveiling their long-awaited Public Lands Initiative in Salt Lake City. But Utah’s Navajos and Utes, along with conservation groups, have joined to focus instead on persuading President Obama to create a Bears Ears national monument. 

Colorado College released its annual Conservation in the West poll that revealed strong public support for efforts to protect and maintain national public lands.